TAILBACKS: Motorists find traffic at a standstill in Inverness on the busy A82 due to 'snagging issues' on brand new swing bridge
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A new swing bridge in Inverness – which was declared a game-changer – continues to run into troubles.
The multimillion-pound link at Torvean, part of the West Link Road project designed to ease congestion to the west of the city, officially opened at the end of June, following delays linked to the pandemic.
It is understood equipment controlling the new bridge needs a sensor, and until then a second operator needs to be available at all times so that it can work in tandem with the older Tomnahurich swing bridge.
They are designed to be co-ordinated so motorists are not held up when vessels on the Caledonian Canal want to pass.
But motorists have been frustrated by further problems in the area, including some being told the heat caused the old Tomnahurich swing bridge to malfunction on Saturday, meaning boats were not able to enter or leave the canal.
A Courier poll found that only eight per cent of readers thought the bridge was helping to ease congestion in the city, while 59 per cent felt the new bridge was not doing its job, and 33 per cent felt it was too soon to tell.
The west link project was funded by Highland Council and the £315 million Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.
The council’s economy and infrastructure committee chairwoman Trish Robertson said: “It is a teething problem that we hope will be sorted out as quickly as possible.
“It is frustrating and annoying and disappointing that this bridge has not worked the way it should have been working.
“We want this remedied as quickly as possible.”
She hailed it as a game-changer last month when the council and contractor RJ McLeod said it was complete. It came after the bridge was opened at the end of May as part of a commissioning process to allow for systems to be fine tuned and painting work to be carried out as well as training of the Scottish Canals staff on its use.
A council spokesman said: “The new swing bridge is now in service and is operated by Scottish Canals.
“There have been some minor issues that have arisen now that the new bridge is in service, and these are related to the operation of the bridge in automatic mode and manual mode.
“Minor modifications continue to be undertaken – to provide greater resilience in the use of automatic mode which requires only one operative – it is hoped that this process will be completed in the near future.
“The new bridge has demonstrated the real benefits that the tandem bridge offers – and it is hoped that this can be fully realised in the near future.”
Driver Ian Blake, from Holm, said that when boats pass through the canal, long traffic jams are caused.
He continued: “The bridge is now ‘parked up’ and the approach roads are coned off.
“This is a very serious issue, shockingly bad and clearly not a ‘minor’ issue.”
Other drivers raised further concerns, including people saying the system is confusing.
Alastair Kirkland said: “I did notice on a couple of occasions when the Tomnahurich bridge was closed due to a boat passing by, cars still queued back toward the town centre and ignoring the new bridge, which was actually open.
“Partly, I think, tourists will have their sat navs on which will tell them to go straight on. Secondly the barrier should be on the roundabout, not at the bridge as that is too late – the queue has already begun.
“If it were actually on the roundabout with an arrow pointing left they would have to move on to the new bridge.”
A Scottish Canals spokesman said: “Due to ongoing snagging issues, Scottish Canals operating staff have asked the Highland Council to leave the bridge open to boating traffic whilst they await specialist contractors to carry out remediation.
“As Torvean is currently closed to road traffic, operating protocols for the neighbouring Tomnahurich Bridge mean that it will remain open to road traffic during peak hours to ensure that travel is possible.”
READ: POLL: Is Torvean Swing Bridge helping to ease congestion to the west of Inverness?
Highland Council says West Link Project is completed as Torvean Swing Bridge is set to open
